4/365 : Poetry-Worthy

not another poem about a kid

i think sarcastically

          begrudgingly 

as if pink tutus dancing without drugs

or the guru-like watching of a robin on the ledge

or reckless imagination, or 

    exponential brain growth, or 

    saying a fifth of your words completely upside-down

    and tongue-tied by stutter-slurred joy

isn't poetry-worthy

i'll tell you what's poetry-worthy:
this girl gave herself her own middle name
she said call me Nahni FlameShaker Story
and then she fell on the floor roaring
call me FlameShaker! 
and then she spun like a natural disaster
call me FlameShaker!
it's pewrfect! 
it's pewrfect!
it's pewrfect!

i'm tired of writing poems about
god and existentialism
and totally leaving out the light

this 5 year old magic
walks right into my room
throws the door shut behind her
shakes the flames
and then exclaims
I have an idea!
puts her finger in the air
and creates it without fear

she asks for help--
all the time!--
help with the scotch tape!

she makes messy 5 year old drawings and calls them pewrfect
she helps me put my socks on
she helps me fold my underwear
she dances until she don't know where she is
and then under there, she makes boats outta things

if kids aren't poetry-worthy
i don't know what is--
and you can take away my license for this
this thing where i'm writing
to say something
worth saying

i try so hard to make it pewrfect--
these words about the light--
i labor and labor and then say
eh...it's just not right 

but that's just the grown-up in me
rambling like she's scared to be free
luckily, there's a kid in here in, too,
she stays up all night, n' knows just what to do
with the pen
and the tape
the magic truth
that's hard to say

she just says it
simple as a kid